A Servant's Dream
by hermione6913
Summary: When an unfortunate event in Bella's life makes her a servant she gets sold to the Cullen family who have a secret and a son that she can't fall in love with.
1. A new beginning

**Disclaimer: **As much as I would like to, I don't own Twilight or any of the characters.

_BPOV_

I stepped out of the car and looked up at the tall building I had hoped that I would never see again. The man that had been driving the car half-pulled me inside and dragged me to the front desk. The man chatted to the women for a minute pointing at me a few times but I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to what they were saying. I watched boys and girls of all ages sitting on the floor all with numbers pinned to their shirts, waiting until someone came and moved them in groups, by age it looked like.

The man finished talking to the woman and turned to me with a number which he told me to pin to my shirt. I did so and looked up at him.

"Well, goodbye then Bella," he said and with that he turned and walked back out the doors we had come in, leaving me a strong sense of déjà vu. I sighed and turned back to the woman at the desk. She looked at me and said, "You can just go sit over there," pointing towards a bunch of about 10 girls all around my age, "Someone will be around to collect you soon."

I sighed and went over to where they were sitting. I slightly smiled at the girls but didn't say anything. There was no point making friends when I would never see these people again. I drifted into thought of the last time I had been here.

_Flashback_

_My social worker, Elaina, took me inside the building and looked around for a minute before approaching the desk. She talked to the woman for some time as I gazed around taking in my surroundings. _

_I had thought that the idea of s__ervants had died out years before, but here I was at a sale and unfortunately I wasn't on the buying end of the deal. Elaina had informed me the week before that they couldn't find relatives or a good foster home for me to go and the only orphanages with openings were really disgusting so this was probably my best shot at a fairly decent home. Apparently the rich people still had servants today just to help them around the house and to cook and clean and most families treated their servants very well. Usually servants started out from a younger age but she said that they would probably accept me because I could cook and clean and I was educated. _

_Elaina turned to me and handed me a piece of paper with the number 61 on it and told me to pin it to the front of my shirt. She had then looked at me for a minute before saying, "I guess this is it. Take care of yourself. I'm so sorry that it's come down to this." I hugged her and then watched as she turned and walked out of the door. _

_End of Flashback_

I was pulled out of my memory by a voice telling us to get up and follow him. We went through a set of double doors and entered the chaos that was going on backstage. We were put into a line in order of our numbers and then lined up on the side of the stage. A man standing there nudged the first girl and she stepped out onto the stage. I heard the announcer say number 54 and the started going on about what the girl could do. Then I heard him start calling out prices and obviously, though I couldn't see it, people were bidding.

"650 dollars," he called, "And sold to the man at the back."

I watched as the next girl took the stage and the process started again. I thought about my last owner to take my mind off my nerves. He was an elderly sort of man called Bill who wasn't really looking for a servant but someone who could help him out around the house. I had cooked and cleaned and fixed things reasonably well and I had began to think that things were going to be okay, that maybe I might get to stay with this man who treated me well and have an okay life. But then not six weeks after I had started there, he suffered from a stroke and died, so it had been back to the sale for me and the one other girl that worked there.

I felt someone tap me and I looked up to see that it was my turn. I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the stage. The lights blinded me as I stumbled across the stage to the middle.

"So," the announcer said, "Number 61 is a bright young girl who is nearly 16. She can cook and she can clean and take care of children. She is very well educated, having just finished 10th grade in southern England." I cringed at the mistake, knowing that it was year 10, not 10th grade but quickly refocused.

"So let's start the bidding at 200 dollars." I couldn't see it very well but people must have started raising their hands because the announcer very quickly started saying, "Okay I have 300. Do I have 400? Yes, thank you sir. 500?"

It seemed to go on for ages and before long it was up to $700. I couldn't understand why people kept bidding on me of all people. I wouldn't call myself very pretty and all people knew of me was what had been read out. All of a sudden I heard a deep voice call out, "1000 dollars!"

My mouth fell open with surprise and the whole room went very quiet as everyone turned to look at the man who had just called out.

"Um right," said the announcer after a minute, "Are there any advances on $1000?" The room stayed very quiet and the announcer called, "Right, okay, sold for $1000 to the man on the right."

I exited to the left of the stage, completely astonished and went up to the waiting area to await my new owner.

He entered a few moments later. He was very pale and looked ever so beautiful I couldn't believe it. He talked to the woman sitting at the desk who handed him some paperwork that he signed and handed back to her with a check. She looked around for a minute and then saw me and pointed at me. The man turned and walked over to me.

"Hello," he said, "What's your name?"

"Um, Bella," I practically whispered.

"Bella it's nice to meet you," he said, "My name's Carlisle. Come on. Let's get going."

I got up and followed him down the long hallway and out the double doors. He went over and talked to the man standing their and then the man nodded and walked off. A moment later, a black Mercedes pulled around the corner and I followed him to the car. I climbed into the back and was silent as we pulled onto the highway and started speeding down the roads.

It couldn't have been more than an hour when we pulled off the high way. We zoomed down some side roads and eventually pulled up to a set of giant bronze gates. Carlisle put down his window and spoke quickly into the intercom system. A moment later the gates opened and I looked upon the biggest house I had ever seen.

It was made from what looked like white stone, maybe marble with a black roof. The middle of the house with the front door had two stories which each had three arches and then there were the two sections of the house on either side of the middle entrance way that were angled inwards as if to make a triangle, each with two floors from what I could see. **(A/N: See my profile for a picture of the house)**

As we weaved up the curved driveway I saw that each of these sections to the side of the entrance way had yet another section coming off them going towards the back of the house and I even caught sight of the pool.

We pulled up the huge circular drop off area in front of the house and climbed out where a number of people were waiting. They all curtsied or bowed and then a girl who looked to be a bit older than me stepped forward. She curtsied again and then Carlisle said, "Angela, this is Bella, she's the new servant. Please take her to her quarters and see that she gets settled in. She will begin tomorrow."

"Yes sir," said Angela, curtsying. "Come along Bella."

She and I walked into the foyer and down a side passage. It lead to some dormitories and Angela showed me which bed I would be sleeping in.

"Wow," I said to her, "There are a lot of beds here. How many servants do they have here?"

"Well," said Angela, "I think about 50, which includes the grounds staff, and the cooks, and the servers, and the general housework people."

"What will I be doing?" I asked.

"I think that they are going to have you do a bit of everything; cooking, cleaning, gardening, maybe tutoring the younger children."

"Oh," I said, "That doesn't sound too bad. What are the people here like?"

"Well," said Angela, "You've already met Carlisle and I'm sure that you will meet his wife Esme soon, she likes to personally introduce herself to all of the new servants. She's kind of motherly figure. Then they have three children: Emmett, Alice, and Edward. Emmett lives here with his wife Rosalie. You will know them when you meet them, Emmett is very big, very strong, and Rosalie is very pretty but comes across as a tad obnoxious. Alice lives here with her husband Jasper and Alice is very petite but has no problem speaking her mind and is a big admirer of clothes. God help you if she ever takes you on a shopping trip. Jasper is almost always with Alice but is the complete opposite from her, very quiet and keeps to himself. And Edward…" Angela paused deep in thought as to what she should say, "Well Edward is very studious, loves the library but is also outside a lot and he always seems to be very deep in thought."

"He's not with anyone?" I questioned.

"No," said Angela sighing, "Esme has tried to pair him so many vamp… umm…people, but he never seems interested."

"Oh," I said, not missing Angela's little slip, wondering what she could have meant to say.

"Angela seemed to realize this and she said, "Right well I have to get back to work. You can get changed into a uniform in the closet over there and then come down to the kitchens to find me and I'll give you a tour."

"Thanks Angela," I said. She smiled and walked out the door. I walked over to the closet and pulled out a blue skirt with a pale blue t-shirt. I put them on and looked at myself in the mirror and then turned to find the kitchens and Angela.

**A/N: Okay this is a new story that I've just thought of and unlike my other stories I won't abandon because I actually have some idea of what is going to happen. Let me know what you think and if I should continue it. If I do continue it I will be looking for a beta. **


	2. An unexpected meeting

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. That privilege goes to Stephanie Meyer. I noly own the plot. **

_BPOV_

I strolled down the passageway that Angela had told me lead to the kitchens and at the end of the hallway; I pushed open a set of heavy wooden doors. The kitchen was chaotic with people running everywhere in preparation for lunch. I stood to one side trying to find Angela within the crowd while remaining out of the way. I eventually spotted her across the room talking to another girl who looked about my age with long black hair.

Angela smiled when she saw me and said to the girl next to her, "Jessica, this is Bella the new servant." Jessica looked at me for a minute and then half smiled at me and went back to talking to Angela.

"Don't worry," said Angela, seeing the hurt look on my face, "Jessica's just stressed because Rosalie has demanded that her dress be washed and dried for dinner this evening and we've just discovered that the washing machine that Rosalie uses is broken."

"So use another washing machine," I replied, completely baffled.

"Yeah, you don't do that with Rosalie's clothes. She insisted on shipping this over from some European country because it's top of the range and it's only the best for her clothes," said Jessica. "I won't have my clothes ruined by using some _generic_ brand," she said, doing a great imitation.

I laughed and then said, "Well can't you just tell her that and say that she just has to wear something else," I replied. The two girls stared at me like I had just grown two heads.

"Um, no," said Jessica, smiling a bit at my ignorance, "This is Rosalie. She's a complete diva and things are done her way no matter what or at what cost."

"Ah, right I see," I said. "Why don't you just hand wash it then?"

"I would," remarked Jessica, "But I have to serve at lunch and then I'm working in the gardens this afternoon."

"Well I could do it for you," I offered, "I mean, I don't have anything to do today and I wouldn't mind."

"Oh wow! Would you?" exclaimed Jessica.

"Sure," I said, laughing at her face, "Where do I have to go?"

"I'll take you there," said Angela, "I have to go pick up something for Alice anyway. But just know that there won't really be anyone else down there because we have set days that we wash the clothes, enforced by Alice, and we don't usually wash today. Not everyone here is as fussy as Rosalie."

"Won't someone be down there fixing the washing machine?" I inquired.

"Well the problem is that it's imported from Europe so the wiring is a little different and the voltage has to be changed so it's hooked up differently and yeah it's very confusing," said Angela. "No one here actually knows how to do it. Rosalie ends up getting Emmett to fix it for her. He seems to be the only one that knows what to do."

"Oh okay. That's fine with me," I said.

"Oh thank you sooo much," said Jessica, giving me a hug and handing me the hanger of the dress, "I owe you. I'll see you later." I watched as she joined the fray and then disappeared. Angela laughed and then turned to me, "Come on. I'll show you where to go."

We went down some stairs and entered the washroom which was nearly as big as the kitchen. There were about eight washing machines lined up along one wall and the same with the dryers on the opposite side.

"Ok," said Angela, "This is it. The sink is jus down the end there and you'll find everything else you need in the cupboard next to it. Now usually none of the Cullen family comes known here but just incase they do let me quickly run over with you what to do."

"Um, alright then," I replied.

"Now whenever they walk by you or you approach them you curtsy and say either Lord or Lady with their name. So for example you might say, 'Lady Alice or Lord Emmett.' Then if they talk to you or ask you something, while you are in conversation with them, you address them as miss or sir unless they tell you otherwise. If you have a conversation with them, right before you leave you curtsy again and say their name again. Now if they come down here they will come through the door over there," she said, gesturing to a door that I hadn't seem before, opposite to the one that we had entered through.

"Right got it," I replied hoping I wouldn't need the information just yet. I didn't need to make a fool of myself in front of these people on the first day I was here.

"Really thank you so much for doing this," said Angela. "Jessica's going to love you. Oh let me show you one more thing."

She walked over to some buttons on the wall and said, "This is the intercom system. The Cullens had it installed so that we're able to communicate between the kitchens and here. I'll call you at dinner time so you can come up and watch what we do for dinner and how we serve it."

"Okay," I replied while processing the information.

"Right," said Angela walking over to a wardrobe and pulling out a dress, that was covered the same as the one I was holding. "I have to take this to Lady Alice," she said, "I'll see you later. Good luck"

"Thanks," I said as she retreated out the door. I walked over to the cupboard and laughed as I pulled out the washing powder that said in big, black, capital letter 'ROSALIE'S ONLY'. I turned to the sink and started running the warm water. I added the washing powder and then pulled the cover off of the dress and gasped. It was a deep blue, off the shoulder, floor length dress that looked more like a gown. The skirt had two layers to it with a ribbon around the waist that tied in the back.

I very carefully placed the beautiful dress in the soapy water, and started carefully washing it. I started quietly singing to myself while I washed and then rinsed the dress. After making sure that I had done a thorough job, I placed the dress in the dryer that matched the broken washing machine. I sat down on a chair on the side of the room and pondered what to do. I got up and walked over to the broken machine and pulled it out from the wall. I went over to the cupboard and luckily found some tools in there, presumably from when Emmett fixed the washing machine previously.

I grabbed a screwdriver and took the back off the washing machine. I looked at the wiring, wondering why it looked familiar. Then it hit me. It was exactly like the one I had fixed in England, except then I had been working with… 'Don't think about him, Bella' I thought to myself as I felt my eyes fill up with tears. I set to work fixing the machine just to keep me busy. It wasn't very difficult, but I could easily see how it could be difficult to someone who didn't know the different wiring to become confused. After a few moments of working in silence I was startled by a sudden 'PING' that caused me to quickly jump up in surprise.

I went over the dryer and pulled out the dress making sure it was completely dry. I looked around before spotting what I was looking for and I went over to the ironing board. I started humming to myself while I ever so carefully ironed the dress. Once I was happy that it was as close to perfection as it would get, I put the cover over it and placed it in the wardrobe that Angela had taken a dress out of.

I returned to the broken machine and quickly finished up with the simple job and then pushed it back into place, very happy with my achievements. I walked over to the sink to wash my hands and was just drying them when I heard a high pitched, screeching noise that caused me to whip around in surprise.

The door across the room opened and a tall, blond, beautiful woman walked into the room. I wasn't sure if beautiful was a good enough word to describe her but judging by what I had been told, this must be Rosalie. Her eyes swept the almost empty room and came to settle on me. Remembering what Angela had told me I curtsied and said, "Lady Rosalie."

She looked at me and then said, with clenched teeth, "What is going on here? I sent my dress down at noon to be washed, dried, and ironed in time for tonight's dinner and I have just been informed that my washing machine is broken." Her voice started to rise, getting more and more angry as she continued. "What am I supposed to do? I need that dress for tonight and now it will not be ready for dinner in an hour!"

Cautiously I said, "Umm, your dress has been washed and dried and ironed, miss."

"What," she asked looking suspiciously at me as if I was joking. "How was that done when my washing machine is apparently broken?"

"It was washed by hand, miss," I replied, wishing I didn't have to have this conversation.

"My dress would have taken an impossibly long amount of time. No one would have been able to do that without neglecting their other chores," she said superiorly. "So who is this person who has spent so long on my dress and not doing what other things they are supposed to be doing?" She asked.

I pondered for a moment, trying to work this woman out. She wanted her clothes washed to perfection but yet still expected these poor people to do everything else as well. After a minute I realized she was still looking at me, waiting for an answer.

"Uhh…I did, miss."

"Hmmm," she said looking me up and down, "And who might you be? I don't recognize you and I know everyone."

"My name's Bella, miss. I'm the new servant here."

"And why, Bella, are you not doing your other chores?" she asked skeptically.

"Well," I said, becoming slightly scared now, "I only arrived today and I was told that I don't have to officially start doing anything until tomorrow."

"And yet, you washed my dress," she said, and to my relief she seemed more incredulous than angry at this point.

"Yes miss," I answered quietly, "Would you like me to get it for you?"

"Yes, thank you," she said. I walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out the dress. I walked back over to her, my eyes on the ground as I felt her eyes upon me. I handed her the dress and she looked at me before saying,

"Well my washing machine is still broken so I guess I'll have to get Emmett to fix it for me," she said.

"Actually miss, your washing machine has been fixed," I replied, now wishing that I had just left it alone.

"What," she said, looking completely shocked. I was a bout to reply when a big, burly, man appeared at the door that Rosalie had come through and I assumed this must be Emmett. He looked at Rosalie and then saw me and I curtsied once again and said, "Lord Emmett." He nodded at me and then turned to Rosalie whose eyes were still on me.

"You need me to fix it again?" he asked, making me wonder how he could have known.

"Apparently it has been fixed," she said.

"What," he said, looking as shocked as her. "How did that happen?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. She looked at me, "Bella, who fixed this washing machine? No one here knows how to do it."

"I did, miss," I said, hoping that she wouldn't yell at me.

"You did," said Emmett, addressing me for the first time. "How? It has European wiring and everything I different."

"I uhh…I fixed one of these machines when I lived in England," I replied.

"That would be where the accent is from," said Rosalie. "It's very faint but it's there. Why is it so faint?" she inquired.

"I only lived there for about a year and a half," I said, looking down once more.

"Oh, I see," said Rosalie, sounding a bit friendlier now, "Why did you move here?"

The one topic that I really didn't want to talk about had come up within the first afternoon of me being here and as I tried to come up with a reasonable excuse, the buzzer on the wall went, saving me from answering.

"Bella," Angela's voice said, "Can you come up now so I can show you what to do with dinner?"

I pressed the button and answered, "On my way."

I turned and faced Rosalie and Emmett and said, "I'm very sorry but I have to go." I curtsied and said, "Lady Rosalie, Lord Emmett," and then turned and bolted out the door before they could ask anything else, leaving them utterly perplexed.

**A/N: So what did you think? Review and ****give me your feedback and if you want to beta for this story or know someone who would please let me know.**


	3. Meeting the family

**I'm Really sorry about this. I had to take it down because my computer went mental and just wasn't recognising the document or something. Sorry!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the plot.**

_BPOV_

I stopped running after I had gone a little ways to catch my breath and collect myself. I sat down against the wall and put my head in my hands as I took some deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. The memories were painful enough but it was worse when someone tried to me nice about it. After a few minutes I stood up and opened the doors to the kitchen. Everything seemed a bit chaotic with people running around everywhere. Angela spotted me and came over and said,

"Hi. Right this is how we do dinner. It is always at 7 o'clock and the Cullens don't eat too much so we dish out each plate individually and then they get carried in on platters for each person. We enter, put down the food in front of each person, curtsy, and then leave the room. We come back exactly forty-five minutes later to clear the plates unless we are told then dinner will be longer then that. You can carry in Alice's plate tonight so that you can see what to do and Alice is probably the most laid back out of all of them so she won't mind if you make a mistake."

"Ok," I replied, taking it all in, "But how did I know which one is Alice? What if I give the wrong person the food?" I said, panicking now.

"Bella relax," remarked Angela, "Ok Carlisle is at one end of the table and Esme is at the other so you can't mistakenly give it to Esme and I'm assuming you won't give it to one of the boys," she said, smiling a little. "That just leaves Rosalie and Alice. Now Rosalie is..."

"Oh," I interjected, "I know who Rosalie is. I met her this afternoon."

"What?" said Angela, looking confused.

"Yeah, she came storming down to the laundry room wanting to know about her dress and her washing machine," I said.

"Oh Bella," Angela said, "I'm so sorry to put you through that. Was she really angry about her washing machine? You did tell her it wasn't you that broke it right?"

"Angela it was fine. Once I told he that I had already fixed her washing machine she seemed fine."

"You fixed it?" Angela exclaimed, "But how no one has a clue what to do except Emmett."

"Angela I used to live in England and I did a bit of work like that around the house with... well for a while," I replied.

Angela sensed the shift in atmosphere and politely dropped the conversation. I watched the rest of the dinner preparations and helped where I could until the clock read 6:55. Angela hurried over to me again and handed me a platter with a covered lid.

"Ok," she said, "This is Alice's food. Now when we go in Lord Carlisle and Lady Esme are served first and then Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, and Edward are all served at the same time. Don't speak to them when you put your food down but if they ask you anything you answer them and then when you are finished speaking you say their name and curtsy"

"Right ok. Who's dish are you carrying?" I inquired.

"Me? Oh I have Esme's so you come in at the same time as me but you will line up against the wall with the other four servers until Jessica and I have given Carlisle and Esme their food."

The clock on the wall then pinged and I looked up and saw that it read 7:00.

"Ok," said Angela, "Lets go."

I went over to the door where Angela and Jessica were heading to the front and Angela quickly introduced me to a blond haired girl who was lining up.

"Bella this is Lauren she's serving Rosalie's food so when she goes to give Rosalie her food you do the same."

"Hi Bella," said Lauren smiling a sweet, sickly, smile that looked incredibly fake.

"Hi," Bella replied with fake enthusiasm to match the other girls.

"Come on," said Angela and pushed open the door.

I walked into an exquisite dinning room with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a large rectangular table in the middle of the room. I went and stood against the wall and watched as Jessica walked to the far end of the table where Carlisle was sat and watched Angela approach, who she assumed was Esme, at the other end of the table. I looked around the table and noticed on Carlisle's left was Rosalie and Emmett, then there was Esme at the other end of the table and then to her left was who I assumed was Jasper as her was deep in conversation with Alice who was set beside him. Then my eyes landed on the most gorgeous boy on Alice's other side. I assumed this was Edward with messy bronze hair and as he looked up I saw the most beautiful golden eyes. I stared at him for a minute and then suddenly realized that he was looking at me and I quickly looked down.

Angela and Jessica were both retreating away from the table now and I started to move with Lauren and the other three servers towards the table. The girl serving Jasper went to his left so I did the same for Alice putting me between her and Edward. Lauren, I was disappointed to see, was serving Edward, but I smiled a bit to myself when I noticed that he hadn't even as much as looked at her. I placed the food in front of Alice and removed the lid and started to back away like the others but then a high voice that sounded like wind chimes said, "Wait a minute."

I turned around, wondering who had said that and who they were talking to. I realized that it was Alice and that she was looking at me.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Bella," I replied quietly.

"Bella," she repeated, "And I'm guessing that you're the new servant here."

"Yes miss," I said, wondering where she was going with this.

"Rosalie was telling me you lived in England. Do you like it here in America?"

I paused for a moment. What kind of a question was that I had returned to America to be a servant and she was asking me if I liked it here.

"Um Alice," said Edward, speaking for the first time, in a voice that made my knees go weak, "I think that's a kind of difficult question considering the present circumstances."

"Oh," said Alice, "Yeah sorry I didn't really think about that, but why did you move here?"

I swallowed wishing that there would be some way to not answer this, knowing that I wouldn't succeed with crying. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper tense and caught Alice's eye for a minute. Then Alice turned back to me and said in a soft voice, "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that. You may leave if you wish."

"Thank you miss," I replied gratefully. I curtsied and turned and left the room with the others who were lined up against the wall. Once out of the room I breathed a sigh of relief and went over to Angela and asked her when we had to clear. She told me it was half an hour but I didn't have to if I didn't want to. I told her it was fine, but asked if I could return to my room for a few minutes to compose myself. Angela could tell something was wrong and said that was fine. I went out of the kitchen, leaving the noise behind and went to my room where I lay down on bed and cried at the memories that I willed myself not to think of.

"Come on pull it together," I told myself after a while, "This is like the third time in one day." I glanced over at the clock and saw that it read 7:35 so I pulled myself out of bed and wiped the tears from my eyes and went back upstairs feeling a big sense of deja vu.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Angela inquired as I came back in.

"Yeah I'm fine," I lied, "Honestly, don't worry about me."

Angela still looked skeptical but didn't ask me about it again. At 7:45 on the dot we entered the dining room again with trays and went over to the person we had been serving and removed their plate. I noticed for the first time that no one had cups or drinks and the plates which were all completely empty looked...well odd. I looked as if the food had just been scrapped off the plate because there were no marks left on the plate from the chicken or the gravy or anything that you would expect on a plate after it had been used, I was so busy thinking about this that I almost missed what Alice talking to me.

"Hi. Look I'm sorry if what I said earlier upset you. I didn't mean to pry I was just curious."

"It's ok miss," I said.

"Don't worry about my sister," said Edward. I was taken by surprise as he was addressing me for the first time, "She often says things before she things about them but that's just Alice. You will get used to it."

I laughed quietly at seeing the pout on Alice's face and then curtsied and backed away.

"Oh Bella," said a different voice, very quiet and soothing. I turned and saw that this time it was Esme who was addressing me. "I would like to meet with you tomorrow at 11 o'clock in the library if that is alright. I'm sure Angela can show you the way," she said glancing at Angela who nodded and said, "Of course miss." Esme smiled at me I curtsied again and left the room this time.

This time when I left the room I smiled, overjoyed tat he had talked to me even if it wasn't much he had still talked to me! Angela saw me and seemed to be happy that I was smiling again.

"We're about done here so you can go now if you would like."

"Ok thanks Angela," I said.

"Yeah," she said smiling, "I'm not quite sure what you are doing tomorrow but could you be here just before nine to help serve breakfast. You will still have time before your meeting with Esme."

"Yeah that's fine. Thanks again," I said as I half skipped out the door.

I wondered where I should go. It was only about 8:00 so it seemed to early to go to bed or go back to my room so I figured I would go and look around a little. I opened the door nearest me and found that it went outside. I went out and walked around the side of the house and found the most exquisite gardens I had ever seen.

There were stone paths around different parts of the garden and flowers everywhere. In the middle was a gazebo with flowers arranged in a circular pattern around it of all different shapes and colors. It looked like something from a picture with two paths with arches leading up the gazebo on either side of it, the flours surrounding it, and the orange and pink sky behind with the setting sun.

I thought I heard footsteps and looked around but there was no one there. I shrugged it off and looked at the garden once more thinking back to see if Angela had told me I wasn't allowed there. I didn't remember her saying anything about it so I assumed it was ok. I started towards one of the paths when suddenly I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I turned around and saw that it was Lauren.

"I just wanted to let you know," she hissed at me between clenched teeth, "that you're nothing special just because they talked to you at dinner. They don't find you interesting or anything they probably just feel sorry for you. Whatever it is that happened; you got made a servant against your will, your parents threw you out of the house, someone died, they don't really care so don't let it go to your head that they actually care about you because you're special or something because you're just an ordinary girl that works for them now."

I turned around to face her, ready to yell back at her and then she said,

"Oh yeah and on more thing. Edward. Don't think he likes you just because he talked to you. I saw the way you looked at him but he's a little out of your league don't you think. And besides why would he go for you, a lowly servant when he could have any girl that he wanted and you are so not up to scratch. Besides, even if he did go for a servant it would be me because I'm smart and pretty whereas you're ugly and no one would go for you in a million years. Just something to think about."

Then she looked at me and gave me the sickly smile again before turning and stalking away. I stumbled over to the gazebo with tears in my eyes for what seemed to be the millionth time today. I sat down on the bench and pulled my knees up to my chin. She was right. Who was I kidding thinking that he would like me. Lauren had just laid it all out, all the truth that I didn't want to hear because I knew that she was right. For a while, I silently sobbed to myself my body shaking as I watched the sun set. After I had cried all my tears I just sat there, knowing my eyes were red and poofy from crying but not moving because the garden was so peaceful and so quiet and made me feel at home. Knowing I would have to leave soon as the sun had now set, I was about to get up when I heard a voice.

"May I sit with you?" it asked.

I looked up and my eyes were met with the golden eyes and messy bronze hair, of Edward Cullen.


End file.
